Newhouse, McMorris Rodgers look to future of health care law

The fight is not over on health care legislation, said U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse of Sunnyside after a bill designed to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act was pulled on Friday.

Fellow Republican U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Spokane is taking a wait-and-see approach to any possible changes to the nation’s health care law, she said.

Democratic U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, representing Washington state, criticized Republicans for spending seven years vowing to get rid of the health care act nicknamed Obamacare.

“It took just a few weeks of them trying to jam Trumpcare through Congress to realize that people across the country absolutely reject their plans,” Murray said.

Newhouse was disappointed that the American Health Care Act — House Republicans’ answer to former President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act — did not move forward, but he plans to take House Speaker Paul Ryan’s advice to go home, spend time with family and reflect on what to do next, he said.

“We’ll get together next week and go to work,” Newhouse said.

The House was expected to vote on the measure Friday after a late Thursday meeting between Ryan and White House staff, in which President Donald Trump issued an ultimatum to representatives to pass the bill or live with so-called Obamacare.

Ryan ultimately pulled the bill Friday before the House could vote. after telling Trump it wouldn’t have enough votes to pass.

Newhouse said Republicans appeared disappointed the bill couldn’t get the votes needed. despite hours of work to make it appeal to the majority. Now, many of those same representatives are looking to see what happens next.

Newhouse hopes to see Congress continue recent work to find more health care money for low-income and elderly residents, he said.

But a greater part of the focus should be on determining how to make health care cheaper, he added.

“We really need to look at how we can get the cost of health care headed in the downward direction,” he said. “That’s what I think we could have addressed through the administration and future legislation. We’ll continue to work on that.”

Newhouse received many calls in recent weeks from district residents, who shared as many differing opinions as the Republican Party, he said.

Some said the bill wasn’t going far enough, others supported Newhouse in voting yes on the bill as it was, and others thought the party was moving too fast.

Newhouse was listed on Wednesday by journalism nonprofit ProPublica among congressional representatives who misspoke on health care costs to their districts.

A letter from Newhouse to voters blamed some higher-than-expected Medicaid on “beneficiaries seeking care at more expensive hospital emergency rooms due to difficulty finding a doctor and long waits for appointments.”

The Medicaid report Newhouse was citing did not name that as a cause of higher costs, and said that costs are soon expected to drop, according to ProPublica’s reading of the report.

McMorris Rodgers, who supported the legislation that was pulled, insisted GOP members in Congress remain convinced on the need to address problems with the Affordable Care Act — just not on the way to do it.

“It’s a little early yet to see what the way ahead will be,” she said, adding she was disappointed that the initial Republican proposal did not find consensus.

McMorris Rodgers is the fourth-highest ranking Republican in the House. She played host to a visit by President Donald Trump to House Republican members on Tuesday at a time when he and GOP leaders were working to line up votes.

“I think the president wanted to see this done. He wanted to see a vote, and see it pass,” she said.

Pulling the vote was the speaker’s call, she said, after “everyone did everything that they could.”

Meanwhile, Gov. Jay Inslee, who has written to McMorris Rodgers urging her to vote against the bill, issued a statement hailing as the vote cancellation as a victory.

Inslee said it meant Ryan and Trump “have failed in their misguided attempt to destroy health care in America.”

Washington residents made their voices heard with calls, letters and emails to Congress, he said. “This victory didn’t happen by chance.”

Murray said the failed Republican proposal would have increased premiums, cut millions of people from their insurance coverage and put insurance companies back in charge of health-care decisions.

“We will be vigilant in defending against continuing efforts to put the interests of insurance companies and the wealthy ahead of patients’ health and welfare,” she said. “I fear that while Trumpcare was dealt a significant blow (Friday), the terrible ideas that underpin it will live on with Republican in Congress and the White House.”

This story was originally published March 25, 2017 at 3:42 PM with the headline "Newhouse, McMorris Rodgers look to future of health care law."